MSRSTR

My comments where about the lack of posts on anything here these days,its becoming a ghost town compared to a while ago.

Been thinking the same thing of late, could be the result of the Facebook site perhaps.
Been thinking the same of late myself, got a theory which I might keep private.
 
It only happens at the end of suspension travel, the last 10mm, maybe less.Maybe it would still hit the 20mm rubber bump stop on the shock, compress that a bit and then hit the frame, I will know when I swop the shock springs over to the next hardest, I will leave one shock on and see what goes where with it bottomed.What did bend was the leading splayed edge into a very slight curl and then the top edge hits square on like a chisel being driven into the frame square on.It wasn't like an atomic boom, the suspension would just stop with enough of a bang to notice. Especially on The Olympic Way with constant woops in the bitumen,shock packing with it not rebounding fast enough as I said earlier and especially with the loaded panniers and my 125kgs on it.
 
Legs said:
Been thinking the same of late myself, got a theory which I might keep private.
I think plenty of stuff is being kept private.Its a shame as even my stupid stuff on occasion produces some interesting info, between the abuse.Well light hearted banter as well.
 
The triple chain guard in the pic seems to be a later cover like on my Jota's.......3C and drummer have a half taper and then straight ....
here's a brace of 3C's together.

IMG_3913.JPG


IMG_3878.JPG
 
Vince, you say that the rear suspension is "packing". From what I understand this is when there is too much rebound damping and the springs don?t extend enough between successive bumps and causes squat and loss of effective travel. Is this what you mean?
I would have thought that had the chain guard acted as a suspension limiter it would only do so once or twice before it is trashed. If it was just lightly contacting at full travel it might make noise.
There often seem to be the same posts here as on the FB sites, lots of people must be following both, as I do. It is far easier to post photos on FB, nonetheless that doing so you give them the ownership rights to the photo, as far as I know. This point could be discussed in a thread separate from Vince?s suspension.
 
Once I get the new springs fitted and look closely at the chain guard I will have a play with the damping adjusters on the Icons, they mainly work on Rebound but I was once told by a suspension pro rebound adjustments also has an effect on the compression circuit. The shocks have slightly thicker oil,7wt from an earlier rebuild.When they had the std 5wt they needed to be at damping 3 to stop it wallowing, after the thicker oil was done it worked well on setting 1.
 
Vince said:
Once I get the new springs fitted and look closely at the chain guard I will have a play with the damping adjusters on the Icons, they mainly work on Rebound but I was once told by a suspension pro rebound adjustments also has an effect on the compression circuit. The shocks have slightly thicker oil,7wt from an earlier rebuild.When they had the std 5wt they needed to be at damping 3 to stop it wallowing, after the thicker oil was done it worked well on setting 1.

Seems to me the damping adjustment on the Koni/Ikon Dial-a-rides is simply the adjustment offered on the predecessor Special-Ds, only moved to the outside.  The Special-D needed to be dismantled for adjustment, Koni claimed this was required only as wear compensation.  This effected compression and rebound.

In my experience, when returning the settings on Dial-a-Rides to lower values after extended use, damping all but disappears,  which to me, shows that wear is a definite issue with these shocks.  Beats me how Koni managed to offer a life-long guarantee on them and managed to stay afloat for so long!  Perhaps they never anticipated us old farts keeping bikes for decades and riding right up until we kick the bucket... :D

Frankly, I wouldn't bother with them.  Strip them for the springs, you never know when you might need them, and invest in something a little more sophisticated. 

piet
 
I know that's the smart way to go especially after what the rebuild on my Maz Symbols on the Pantah cost and the SHIT action they still have but anything better is close to a grand.Maybe one day when my Kidneys finally collapse from the banging.
 
Vince,

Just think of the time you spend mucking around with the things, worth a lot more than just a grand... life's too short for that sort of shit!  It'll be too late when your kidneys give up.

I have good experience with YSS products, they do what it says on the box, no further faffing around.  Great value for the money and a wide range that suits our clunkers to choose from.  Surely they, or something similar (Gazi?), are available in Oz.  Of course, Wilbers/?hlins/etc offer quality and hi-tech in abundance, but are well out of reach for many of us.

I trashed the Konis on my RGS when I bought it, one was leaking badly.  Fitted a pair of Bitubo (no market presence for YSS at the time) with great results, still going strong 18 years later.

piet
 
Well pleased with the YSS shocks on the RGS, took a while to dial in though.
 
Well, I started with a pair of NOS Koni 7610-1397 on my 3C. Since they have been laid up on a shelve for many years, I replaced the oil before using them first (thanks to Piet for pointing me to that). I'm 75kgs, so rider only is spring pretension on lowest, and rebound set to 1 for me. Carrying the missus on the pillion, I get the spring pretension up by one notch and set rebound to 2. They do work just as intended, I'm quite happy with them.

The shocks have slightly thicker oil,7wt from an earlier rebuild.When they had the std 5wt they needed to be at damping 3 to stop it wallowing

Vince, where did you get that oil specs from? AFAIK OEM spec on the Konis is 17.5 weight and, that is what I have used on mine.

I consider the oil being the main wear part in shocks, apart from the seal of the rod. Quite like the Konis for their possibility to do an oil service on my workbench w/o need for nitrogen fillings and the like. With the oil changed in regular intervals, and seals on the rod replaced immediately when they start leaking ( means not only oil out, but also dirt going in) I'd think the are quite long lasting.
The trick bit on the oil change is to get the right amount of oil in. Mine are up for an oil change this winter, so I'll try to make a few pics for the Laverda forum "Hints and Tips/WIKI" section.

Regards,
Stefan




 
The bloke who rebuilt them said std is 5wt and he went to the next heaviest 7.5wt.    17.5wt you sure that's not a typo,see 15wt but not 17.5. Maybe you mean 7.5
 
I use 10wt oil in fork and shock rebuilds.
I was of the understanding this was standard ex factory.
 
In case you're not convinced, see picture below.
BTW, just mix 125cc SAE20 and 100cc SAE10 (same brand and grade), and you'll get 225cc SAE 17.5, which is ample for refilling a pair of Konis, they take about 80cc each.
 

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That's a real surprise,I must have misheard the bloke who rebuilt mine,he has a strong Yorkshire assent, they work well enough on Damping 1 setting.
 
sfcpiet said:
Vince,

Just think of the time you spend mucking around with the things, worth a lot more than just a grand... life's too short for that sort of shit!  It'll be too late when your kidneys give up.




I have good experience with YSS products, they do what it says on the box, no further faffing around.  Great value for the money and a wide range that suits our clunkers to choose from.  Surely they, or something similar (Gazi?), are available in Oz.  Of course, Wilbers/?hlins/etc offer quality and hi-tech in abundance, but are well out of reach for many of us.

I trashed the Konis on my RGS when I bought it, one was leaking badly.  Fitted a pair of Bitubo (no market presence for YSS at the time) with great results, still going strong 18 years later.

piet

Amen !  YSS is run by an Aussie who lives in Legs neck of the woods  ;) Shocks made in Thailand and shipped worldwide ! Good economical shock with good service back up  8)
 
Yep, the bloke selling and servicing the YSS shocks here in Adelaide provides a good service. Builds the shocks while you wait, had to take mine back to get stiffer springs fitted, took about 15 minutes all up.
 
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